If you are participating in an online marketing campaign, one part of that campaign is probably a pay-per-click campaign utilizing something like Google AdWords, if not exactly Google AdWords. You should remember that just because you are using the internet as part of your marketing, the same rules, tips and tricks apply as in the old days of sales and marketing.

One of the basic tenets of marketing and good copy writing is a “call to action.” You want to tell the customer what you expect of them, not leave it up to them to wonder about your product. On the internet, one way to have a great “call to action” is to direct an online marketing campaign to a specific landing page on your website. This only makes sense, because in fact you get to direct the clients and shape how they view your product.

If you have a very specific marketing campaign lined up using specific keywords or a pay-per-click marketing campaign, than having customers land on a short-term microsite may be what best works for that campaign. Where the pay-per-click advertising campaign has a customer directed to on your web site is referred to as the landing page. There are several different types of landing pages. Think of the landing page as a one page informational piece, similar to a flyer in a newspaper, or a single sheet magazine ad. If you are running a sale for a specific product, or want to promote an event, or enter someone in a drawing or contest, a microsite might be the best option for you.

For example, for the month of March you run a full-on campaign focusing on St. Patrick’s Day and how it can be your customer’s “Lucky Day.” Through an internet search about your product in general, they find out about your contest. This draws them straight to your microsite pay per click landing page, where they find out more information about your contest, before going on to the main site. On the microsite, you give them the opportunity to enter in their email address to enter the contest. You make it easy for them to close out the window and enter your main web site, if the contest truly doesn’t interest them. You don’t want to have the microsite frustrate your customer, but instead make it seem like it really is their “Lucky Day” that they found out about your special promotional offer.

Now, because of this landing page, you were able to tell that your specific marketing campaign worked to bring in a client, and it interested them enough that they gave you their personal information in the form of their email address. The landing page can tell them all the information they need to know about a new product or special, without the distractions that often turn off customers as a part of a larger web site. But at the same time, you aren’t overwhelming them with too many graphics that keep them from getting to your web site if they still would like to experience more.